What were the most significant items on the Groveland Planning & Zoning Board agenda for December 2025?

Meeting Reading

Groveland Planning & Zoning Board

December 4, 2025

4 items on the agenda

**147 acres of "City of Groveland Village" zoning created in one meeting, with zero public comment:** Brighthill Phase 2 brought in 147.47 acres from unincorporated Lake County and stamped it with Groveland's Village Core / Village Center / Village Edge stack — the form-based, walkable village typology Groveland has been building toward. This is the largest single annexation-and-rezoning package the board has handled in this dataset, and it moved through three unanimous votes with no speakers at the podium. For a city whose synthesis is "Building identity from scratch," this is a 147-acre vote on what that identity looks like, taken in near-silence.
**The Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area is now city Village land:** Portions of the Brighthill site sit inside the Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area — a Lake County designation explicitly meant to protect rural character. The CPA converted that protected designation (Lake County Rural and Lake County Regional Office) directly into Groveland Village. The rural-protection layer was Lake County's; once annexed, Groveland's land use applies. This is exactly the dynamic SB 180's grandfather window thesis is about: which jurisdiction's rules are in force when the parcel is locked in.
**Three-ordinance playbook scales from 1.9 acres to 147 acres without breaking:** Same three-vote pattern as Gadson Street in November (annex + CPA + rezoning), 78x bigger. The procedural template is now jurisdiction-neutral on parcel size.

On December 4, 2025, City of Groveland's Planning & Zoning Board considered 4 agenda items. **147 acres of "City of Groveland Village" zoning created in one meeting, with zero public comment:** Brighthill Phase 2 brought in 147.47 acres from unincorporated Lake County and stamped it with Groveland's Village Core / Village Center / Village Edge stack — the form-based, walkable village typology Groveland has been building toward. This is the largest single annexation-and-rezoning package the board has handled in this dataset, and it moved through three unanimous votes with no speakers at the podium. For a city whose synthesis is "Building identity from scratch," this is a 147-acre vote on what that identity looks like, taken in near-silence. **The Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area is now city Village land:** Portions of the Brighthill site sit inside the Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area — a Lake County designation explicitly meant to protect rural character. The CPA converted that protected designation (Lake County Rural and Lake County Regional Office) directly into Groveland Village. The rural-protection layer was Lake County's; once annexed, Groveland's land use applies. This is exactly the dynamic SB 180's grandfather window thesis is about: which jurisdiction's rules are in force when the parcel is locked in. **Three-ordinance playbook scales from 1.9 acres to 147 acres without breaking:** Same three-vote pattern as Gadson Street in November (annex + CPA + rezoning), 78x bigger. The procedural template is now jurisdiction-neutral on parcel size.

CHANGE LENS

THE READINGmeeting record

City of Groveland Planning & Zoning Board — December 4, 2025

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (7 of 8 members present) Duration: Approximately 106 minutes (5:00 PM – 6:46 PM)

Attendance

Present: Zach Decker (Chair), Robin Hoover (Vice Chair), Kerry Lambert, Alisha Kissee-Garcia, Lindsay Crum, Michael Archer, Marty Proctor
Absent: Bill Mathias (non-voting)
Staff Present: City Attorney Anita Geraci-Carver; Timothy Maslow, Community & Economic Development Department Director; DeWayne Jones, Planning and Zoning Manager; Alan Booker, Senior Planner; Ciara Bender, Recording Secretary

Agenda Items

Item 1: Ordinance 2025-26 — Brighthill Phase 2 Annexation

Type: Annexation (voluntary, F.S. § 171.044)
Case Number: Ordinance 2025-26
Location: West of SR-19; east, north, and south of O'Brien Road; portions within the Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area
Applicant: EPG Sunstone Holdings LLC
Request: Annex 147.47 +/- acres into the City of Groveland
Acreage: 147.47 +/- acres
Action: Recommended for approval to City Council
Vote: Unanimous (motion by Crum, second by Kissee-Garcia)

Item 2: Ordinance 2025-27 — Brighthill Phase 2 Large Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment

Type: Comp Plan Amendment (Large Scale, F.S. § 163.3184)
Case Number: Ordinance 2025-27
Location: Same parcels as Item 1; within the Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area
Applicant: EPG Sunstone Holdings LLC
Request: Amend Future Land Use from Lake County Regional Office and Lake County Rural to City of Groveland Village
Acreage: 147.47 +/- acres
Action: Recommended for approval to City Council
Vote: Unanimous (motion by Kissee-Garcia, second by Crum)

Item 3: Ordinance 2025-28 — Brighthill Phase 2 Rezoning

Type: Rezoning
Case Number: Ordinance 2025-28
Location: Same parcels as Items 1–2
Applicant: EPG Sunstone Holdings LLC
Request: Change zoning from Lake County Agriculture and Lake County Planned Commercial to City of Groveland Village Core, Village Center, and Village Edge (three-zone Village stack)
Action: Recommended for approval to City Council
Vote: Unanimous (motion by Lambert, second by Hoover)

Item 4: Ordinance 2025-35 — Chapter One Florida Building Code

Type: Code Amendment (local amendments to the Florida Building Code; updates Chapters 105 and 121 of the Code of Ordinances)
Case Number: Ordinance 2025-35
Request: Adopt local amendments to the Florida Building Code and update Building Code references in Chapters 105 and 121 of the Code of Ordinances
Action: Continued to February 5, 2025 [sic — minutes record the continuance to a "February 5" meeting; the substance was ultimately picked up via the April 2, 2026 Florida Building Code Update presentation by Building Official John Abner]
Vote: Unanimous (motion by Hoover, second by Kissee-Garcia)

Public Hearings Summary

Number of speakers: 0
General sentiment: N/A — no public comment was taken on any of the four items, including the 147-acre Brighthill Phase 2 package

Key Signals

147 acres of "City of Groveland Village" zoning created in one meeting, with zero public comment: Brighthill Phase 2 brought in 147.47 acres from unincorporated Lake County and stamped it with Groveland's Village Core / Village Center / Village Edge stack — the form-based, walkable village typology Groveland has been building toward. This is the largest single annexation-and-rezoning package the board has handled in this dataset, and it moved through three unanimous votes with no speakers at the podium. For a city whose synthesis is "Building identity from scratch," this is a 147-acre vote on what that identity looks like, taken in near-silence.
The Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area is now city Village land: Portions of the Brighthill site sit inside the Yalaha–Lake Apopka Rural Protection Area — a Lake County designation explicitly meant to protect rural character. The CPA converted that protected designation (Lake County Rural and Lake County Regional Office) directly into Groveland Village. The rural-protection layer was Lake County's; once annexed, Groveland's land use applies. This is exactly the dynamic SB 180's grandfather window thesis is about: which jurisdiction's rules are in force when the parcel is locked in.
Three-ordinance playbook scales from 1.9 acres to 147 acres without breaking: Same three-vote pattern as Gadson Street in November (annex + CPA + rezoning), 78x bigger. The procedural template is now jurisdiction-neutral on parcel size.
EPG Sunstone Holdings' Brighthill is a multi-phase project — Phase 2 is on the books, Phase 1 is presumably already in: Watch for Phase 3+ in future agendas. The Village Core / Village Center / Village Edge tri-zone structure mirrors a master-planned village rather than conventional subdivision lots, so this is a long-horizon development with multiple meetings still to come.
Florida Building Code update was continued, then quietly resurfaces as the April 2 presentation: Ordinance 2025-35 was supposed to be the December vehicle for adopting local amendments to the Florida Building Code; the board continued it. By April 2, 2026, the Building Official is presenting the Florida Building Code Update as a free-standing item. The substance is moving forward; the ordinance number isn't.
Lindsay Crum announces she will not renew her seat: Another seat-level board change after the Shylkofsky departure in October. With Brandan Dixion seated by April 2, the board's center of gravity is shifting through the EAR amendment cycle. Member churn during a comprehensive plan rewrite is a watch item.

Raw Notes

DeWayne Jones announced no January 2026 meeting; encouraged board members to reach out to staff for clarification.
Tim Maslow thanked the board for their service.
Note: Recording Secretary discrepancy — the minutes record both Maria Ramirez (in headnote read-ins) and Ciara Bender (in attest line) for this meeting. Ciara Bender attested; Maria Ramirez read the headnotes into the record.
Source: December 4, 2025 minutes embedded in the April 2, 2026 P&Z agenda packet PDF (approved on consent at the April 2, 2026 meeting).

[THE READING]meeting record